Speak Up Friend by Co Theatre Physical

About

Speak Up Friend is a play for years 3 to 8 about having the courage to speak up for your friend. It is about bravery, friendship, spiders and weaving broken things back together.

Co Theatre Physical mixes story, vivid characters, physical theatre and comedy. Award-winning Monarch and Wild Feelings (both winners of ‘Plays for the Young’ – Playmarket NZ) have toured to schools in the last few years.

Short Synopsis

A smashed bus stop.
A broken friendship.
A rival Mayor.

It’s the day of the Tidy Towns competition. Eva is trying to call Lottie to fix their friendship. They are due to perform at the Tidy Towns prize-giving TODAY. Eva’s grandma, the mayor of their town Springville, always wins Tidy Towns but this broken bus stop could mean her defeat! Who is vandalising their town?

Eva needs courage to help her grandma and to fix her friendship. She says “Imagination Go!” and conjures a swordfighter, a superhero, a dragon, a social media influencer. These characters teach her about courage and help her build her brave.

Eva’s imagination will not “Stop” and takes her to the land of How To Break A Friendship. There she learns about the keyboard warrior, the bully, the bystander, the gossip. An apology will be her way out.

Her new found courage enables her to apologise to Lottie BUT can she help her grandma find the vandal and win the Tidy Towns competition?

Eva sits at the bus stop. Someone has smashed the glass. Eva is oblivious as she is trying to call Lottie to fix their friendship. They are meant to perform at the Tidy Towns prize-giving TODAY. Eva’s grandma appears, shocked at the broken glass, and angry that Eva did not tell her sooner! Eva’s grandma is the mayor of their town Springville and always wins Tidy Towns. This mess could mean her defeat.

BUT Lottie will not answer Eva’s calls and not only is her grandma upset with her but so is a spider. She blames Eva for the broken glass and her broken web. She is about to sink her venomous fangs into Eva.

So, using her imagination (and her Tidy Towns performance costumes), she distracts the vengeful spider with outlandish ideas about who might have broken the glass: a flying sword from two Shakespearean sword fighters; a superhero whose GPS is faulty; a jewellery thieving dragon; a social media influencer-obsessed with her phone.

The spider is entertained by Eva’s scenarios and the bite is averted but Eva’s grandma reports more vandalism and the Tidy Towns judges are due any minute. How can they tidy the town in time and who is the vandal?

Lottie will still not pick up her phone. Eva’s imagination takes her to a land called How To Break A Friendship where she learns about the keyboard warrior, the bully, the bystander, the gossiper. She identifies herself as the bystander and begins to make amends to Lottie with an apology.

Captured on CCTV footage the mayor of the neighbouring town is discovered as the vandal but when grandma confronts him, she is bullied. Eva and grandma both need courage so they call on the swordfighter, the superhero, the dragon, the princess and the spider for help. They confront the vandal mayor and make amends with Lottie. They weave broken things back together.

Suitability: School Years 3-8
Duration: 50 minutes
Price: $6 (+ GST) per student (Minimum audience 130 children)

Credits

Performed by Katie Burson and Beth Kayes
Written by Beth Kayes
Costumes designed and made by Elizabeth Whiting
Set designed and made by Kathryn Jarvis
Sound Design by Grace Kayes-Moller and Jonathan Vanderhoorn
Video shot and edited by Liam Addison
Photos by Deane Cohen

  • Speak Up Friend - school show
  • Speak Up Friend - school show
  • Speak Up Friend - school show
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Feedback about Speak Up Friend:

Thanks again for a wonderful show.  The students (and staff) really enjoyed your performance.  It aligned with a lot of the messages that we are trying to emphasise with ākonga at the moment.  We also have a school production happening later in the year, and it’s always great for students to see professional actors perform.

Speak up Friend was a brilliant show with very relevant themes for our tamariki.  The kids were highly entertained for the full hour while the actors provided an energetic and funny show.  The children were fascinated with the props and very curious after the show of where they were made and where they got them from.  We were able to take the themes from the show and have a good conversation back at class about being upstanders and not bystanders.

Today our Year 3-6 students watched the ‘Speak Up Friend’ show. The children were captivated by the performance and were completely engaged in the themes of friendship, being an upstander, showing courage and putting things right. These themes work beautifully to reinforce the lessons we do with the Mitey. The costumes, props and actors were so vibrant and energetic. We love booking Co Theatre, year after year.

It was a show with lovely elements. Loved the main story, with other topics woven throughout. It appealed to the current generation with the TikTok dance/song and real-life scenarios. Thank you for an amazing show. You are both SO talented!

Our students (and staff!) were enthralled by the many interweaving storylines, simple set design and extravagant costumes. The actors engaged with the audience before the show, and answered many questions post show too. We would highly recommend!

Co Theatre Physical were a treat to have at our school. The students were engaged and thoroughly enjoyed the performance. Highly recommend.

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